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Net Neutrality
Net Neutrality refers to the principle that everything on the Internet should be able to be equally accessed by users. Some large internet providers have deemed themselves the "gatekeepers" of the internet, limiting access, slowing down speeds or charge for use to any website, platform or application. For example, you should not be restricted to only buy products from the sites that your Internet services has partnerships with and therefore limits your access to other sites selling products. History In the 1990's, the internet began to emerge as a huge market, and regulators assumed it would be very competitive, thus voiding any reason to classify internet companies as "common carriers". Phone companies, on the other hand, continued to be classified as common carriers, and were subject to strict regulations. In the 1996 Telecommunications Act , Congress solidified this standard. Basic services, such as telephone services, were labeled as "telecommunication services" and gave the Federal Communications Commission the right to strictly regulate these service companies. Internet service providers were considered to be providing "information services", and thus were not subject to regulation by the FCC. While some version of telecommunications neutrality has been around since the telegram era, the origins of net neutrality began in 2005. The FCC reclassified Internet services as an information service and issued a “Broadband Policy Statement” in an effort to ensure and preserve the open nature of the Internet. This statement included four principles that consumers were entitled to: access to lawful content on the Internet of their choice, ability to run applications and use services of their choice, connect their legal device of choice as long as it causes no harm, and encourage competition among network providers. Legislators have pushed since then to enact these principles as law but have not been successful thus far. As the internet continued to grow and expand, the laws compensated for the overwhelming power given to the internet service providers. In 2010, the Federal Communications Commission enacted an Open Internet Order, which imposed regulations on large internnet providers such as Verizon and Comcast. The Open Internet Order Banned these large internet providers from blocking or discriminating against internet content. This order did not go without great backlash from the internet providers it affected. Proponents vs Opponents While it is not currently a law, there has been much debate as to whether or not these regulations should be put in place. Proponents of net neutrality believe that these regulations would ensure that the Internet maintains a free and democratic place of communication and encourages competition by service providers. They also argue that it keeps costs low for consumers and providers ensuring more people have access. Opponents believe that more regulations would stifle the free market system, impede free speech and prohibit practices that could increase the value of the Internet for consumers. They often cite the fact that Internet providers are not violating equal access so there is no need to regulate. When in fact in 2007, Comcast was found to be blocking and delaying a file-sharing program, making it difficult for users to share movies, music and large files on that platform. Future The future of net neutrality is still unsure. A recent decision by the Supreme Court to “defer to the administering agency’s construction of the statute” when a law is ambiguous could serve to bolster the regulating powers of the FCC and strengthen the resolve to adapt net neutrality into law. This decision could also serve to weaken a lawsuit filed by Verizon against the FCC for regulating Internet providers outside of their jurisdiction. The replacement of the current FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who made adopting net neutrality laws one of his top priorities, with Obama nominee, Tom Wheeler may put these regulations on the back burner. Many believe that Genachowski’s tenure caused the administration to spend too much political capital on net neutrality rules only to have them enacted in a way that made the FCC vulnerable to court challenges. With the support of Internet giants like Yahoo, Amazon and Microsoft net neutrality seems to have the momentum behind it to finally be enacted as law. Most consumers agree that Internet providers should not be limiting our access to information. If limiting access becomes a normal practice it would face much opposition from both sides of the aisle. The world of the Internet is constantly changing and it is a struggle for government to keep up.